Cryptoeconomics and Tokenomics as Economics: A Survey with Opinions
Kensuke Ito
TL;DR
The paper tackles the problem of defining and bridging cryptoeconomics and tokenomics, two terms that are ill-defined and siloed from mainstream economics. It presents a historical and definitional foundation, then analyzes how to design decentralized consensus and token-based autonomy in a unified framework, supported by five case studies. Its contributions include the first systematization of knowledge (SoK) on cryptoeconomics and tokenomics, and a practical integration lens that highlights how marginal cost, marginal utility, stabilizers, and norms interact to sustain decentralized incentive systems. The work offers a roadmap for future research and design in blockchain governance, incentive alignment, and token dynamics, with concrete observations on scalability, external incentives, and rationality that influence real-world protocol outcomes.
Abstract
This paper surveys products and studies on cryptoeconomics and tokenomics from an economic perspective, as these terms are still (i) ill-defined and (ii) disconnected from economic disciplines. We first suggest that they can be novel when integrated; we then conduct a literature review and case study following consensus-building for decentralization and token value for autonomy. Integration requires simultaneous consideration of strategic behavior, spamming, Sybil attacks, free-riding, marginal cost, marginal utility and stabilizers. This survey is the first systematization of knowledge on cryptoeconomics and tokenomics, aiming to bridge the contexts of economics and blockchain.